To be more specific, Frederik, the files were checked out using the Vault View that was created under Windows XP. If that Vault View was destroyed when the system was upgraded, the files cannot be checked back in, they can only be 'Undo Checkout'ed and only by the Admin account. Your IT group needs to understand that Vault Views are sacred and cannot be recreated once destroyed, therefore any files checked out on that Vault View need to be checked in before the Vault View is destroyed, by any means.

Sorry, not the answer you wanted, but one that we all have to deal with. I've cultivated a good relationship with our IT manager and he seems to understand the sanctity of Vault Views now...

Since this is not my primary field of work (understanding the behavior of the PDM database), please excuse my questioning.

Prior to handing my laptop over for maintenance I was asked to run a backup script.

The question is now: Could my Vault View have been "back-upped" had it been included in the backup script thus allowing me to access my checked out files after the system upgrade?

The reason I am asking is that if it is indeed possible to make a backup of the Vault View I might ask that it be included in the backup script for future use so that I (or my colleagues) will not find ourselves in this situation again (and since it seems more foolproof to include it in a backup-script than relying on me remembering to check in each and every file)... Best practices aside.

Even if these files that were checked out could be located I am fairly certain that they cannot simply be put back into the local vault view and be regcognised as being checked out.

The ViewID will be different on the "new" vault view on Windows 7...

This is what i think needs to be done (if the backup contained the vault view and you can recover the files).

All of the files must have an "Undo Checkout" performed on them.

Those same files must then be checked out.

The files from the "Windows XP Vault View" copied over the "Windows 7 Vault View"

It is important to remember that the Vault View is on the local hard drive - if you have a hard drive failure or your laptop is stolen then you cannot recover those checked out files. Use the search tool to find all the files you have checked out and check them in regularly.

I would like to thank all of you for partaking in this discussion, even if this means that I lost some work this time. Looking forward, I have learned my lesson and I will press that our IT department reminds co-coworkers to check in their files prior to any maintenance in the future.